Candi Levens (Classic Gerosha)
Candice Marie McArthur (neé Flippo-Levens) / Ciem is a young superheroine in the canceled Ciem webcomic trilogy. She is one of several incarnations of Ciem throughout the Gerosha multiverse of Dozerfleet Comics, this one in particular being part of the continuity known as Classic Gerosha. She was part of an effort in 2007 to complete a reboot of Gerosha Prime Ciem, first attempted in 2006 with Despair Gerosha Ciem. Due to both problems with the Despair Gerosha narrative and problems with the equipment on which that version of Ciem was being created, the 2006 version was canceled. However, the arrival of a Dell Inspiron 6000 laptop as Dozerfleet Portable in December of 2006 allowed for work on a reboot of Ciem to happen anyway. In the beginning, whole scenes from 2006 were re-created for 2007. Since this version of Candi was made before the November 2012 US presidential elections, the inspirations behind Cataclysmic Horizons were not yet in place. This version of Candi started out as little more than an effort to make her and her story more original, and to clean up continuity and other problems that dated back to Gerosha Prime. With no Ameristani regime, this version's battles were focused more on battling petty crime and serious criminal sex offenders. Those traits would carry over later on to her Comprehensive Gerosha counterpart, who took some of Classic Candi's personal struggles to extremes. Later on, Cataclysmic Candi would tone down the previous two's personal issues quite a bit; to focus on a larger narrative with bigger themes while also making the character work better with test audiences. Occasionally, this Candi would battle the Hebbleskin Gang, along with their monsters and henchmen. It is Candi's godfather Imaki Izuki that produces the equipment that allows her to become Ciem officially later on, although Imaki is less-personally involved in Candi's life in this version than in the latter two. Her teammates consist of her boyfriend/eventual husband Donte "Emeraldon" McArthur, Dolly "the Earwig" Malestrom, and a few more that come and go. She begins the series in Ciem by trying to decide the direction she and her fiance Donte are going to go with their plans in life, especially considering he is off to fight in the Phaelon-Metheel War to put a stop the Hebbleskins there, which would put his life in danger. Meanwhile, Candi intends to stay behind in Indiana and attend Viron University. Living at Erin's house, Candi begins to plan her move away to Viron for college. Powers, accessories, and weaknesses Powers In keeping with the standard power set for most incarnations, this version of Candi has centuition and accelerated healing. She also has enhanced speed, strength, agility, constriction, and body flexibility (although, she still has trouble being as flexible as a professional contortionist.) She weighs 122 pounds, but can push or lift nearly half a ton out of her way if she needs to. At 5'4.5", she's not very tall. She can jump a full story at a time if she needs to, but is outclassed by Jackrabbit's ability to jump 2-1/2 stories in one bound. Her greatest skill comes in the form of the execution of maneuvers involving her centilegs, which are short stingers that protrude from her upper wrists, shoulders, hips, thighs, and lower calves. They contain a venom that is comparable to bee venom, which can incapacitate someone. Enough stings can cause temporary paralysis, making it easier for her to subdue adversaries. Her centuition works similar to spider sense, in that it lets her sense danger coming and evade it. She can also stalk fleeing adversaries for a short time even after they've left her field of sight, with an almost "psychic radar" ability to know where they are. She dodges bullets after hearing a "phantom scream" sensation that lets her know exactly which direction a bullet is coming from. She can heal quickly from most bullet wounds, just in case one does manage to hit her anyway. She also possesses the ability to view another individual's romantic history based on an aura she can sense around the eyes, with darker auras indicating more sexual history. (Virgins have no aura.) Because of this, Jack is unable to lie to her about his past skirt-chasing antics. Finally, her abilities include an enhanced metabolism. While she gets plenty of exercise, she is able to keep her weight regulated more easily than most. This comes in handy during pregnancy, as she'd likely gain a lot of weight otherwise. Most importantly, Comprehensive Candi is the first version to feature "short" centilegs as stingers, a tradition carried over into Cataclysmic Candi. Many other features of this version's abilities also transferred over. Every version prior featured her centilegs as lengthy-and-small-but-strong cords of a sort of tentacle. Long tentacle legs had the advantage of providing her with swinging abilities and having whips with venom on their ends. They could also be used to help her break a fall. However, compact storage seemed improbable and was difficult to explain. Accessories Courtesy of Imaki, Candi has a variety of tools in her Ciem arsenal as well. She is protected from disease not only by an enhanced immune system, but also from her "dart shooters." These wrist-bound items have miniature darts, up to 500 each in a large pack, which marinate in a solution of her venom. They fire like pressurized staples from a staple gun, and allow her to sting her enemies without having to touch them directly. Mid-range fire also gives her the ability to retain her stealth longer. They were introduced in Ciem: Nuclear Crisis as replacements for her mechanical whips from Vigilante Centipede, which were deemed inefficient. In Cataclysmic Horizons, that version of Candi begins with dart shooters. Zeran wardrobes are quantum storage packages that enable her to store and change clothes quickly. They are modeled after the Zeran technology that was first developed by the Marlquaanite Lord Zeras in the second century AD. Zeran teleporters allow her to move from one place to another quickly, though her small-size models are very short-range. She can transport about two football fields tops in distance, though usually teleports shorter distances to preserve battery life. Combined with roof-hopping, she uses Zeran teleporters to get around town when nobody is able to fly her across. This helps her out tremendously with getting out of tight spots. In spite the fact that centipedes in nature can climb walls all the time with little difficulty, she cannot do any of her own wall-crawling without additional equipment. She also possesses Denny pills, developed by her deceased husband Denny Levens with help from the Phaelites. With Denny pills, she is able to reattach severed limbs - including her own head - while remote-controlling her severed body parts. They also help prevent excessive blood loss. Unlike later incarnations, this version of Candi has had the opportunity to use Denny pill/Remotach technology to great effect in battle. She was trained in how to use it by Denny, who used her as as guinea pig to prove that it worked. She was beheaded three different ways by Denny in his basement lab, and was able to put herself back together successfully every time. When infiltrating Arfaas' doom ship to rescue Donte and reclaim Evansville, Candi slips herself and Dolly some Denny pills, allowing them to survive their own executions and stage a coup. However, Darius eventually cancels some of the orders for mass production of Denny pills without explanation. When Candi's supply runs out, she relies on sheer luck to avoid death by decapitation in the event of capture; as the Hebbleskin Gang is stubborn about its policy on female prisoners of Decolarent eam, eviscerate eum. Weaknesses Comprehensive Candi has a lot of the same powers and weaknesses as Classic Candi, but in exaggerated form. The Curse of Honeybee Samuel is explicitly stated to be part of the problem this Candi faces, leading her to an intense problem with nymphomania that is considerably toned down in later versions. She has the most difficulty controlling herself around Donte. Donte has little self-control in this continuity either, as both of them have self-confidence issues. This Candi is extremely clingy, more so than any version before or after. Unlike Classic, and Cataclysmic Candi, this version's world does not really have any bezeetol in existence for her to worry about. Like with every version since Despair Candi, Comprehensive Candi is particularly susceptible to her powers being dampened if she gets pregnant. This becomes a source of internal conflict for her, as she looks forward to having children. Due to how most birth control pills work, this means that she cannot be on birth control either. Since the Marlquaan is indirectly responsible for how Phexos are able to get their abilities, she is also susceptible to being trapped in a Marlquaanite prison. However, Emwaults are more directly tied to the Marlquaan. This means that her boyfriend is even more susceptible to imprisonment. Any Marlquaanite she meets, however, is going to have a direct bond, and be the most susceptible. This means that her non-Phexo and non-Marlquaanite friends are essential teammates in reducing her likelihood of capture. Character bio Ancestry Candi's double-maternal great-grandparents include the Indo-Persian explorer Sadasheeva Cherupara from India and Alexis Hood from Indiana. Their union was generally frowned upon by both their families; but they were determined to make their marriage work. Some Thuggees had a score to settle with Sadasheeva, however, and stalked him all the way to his home with Alexis. While Sadasheeva himself was murdered, his wife Alexis escaped. She raised their daughter, Marissa Hood, in the forests outside of Booneville, IN. Marissa eventually took over living in her quiet home after Alexis died. She discovered that much of her life would be a repeat of her mother's - up until the day that a fugitive named Dwayne Lloyd invaded her home. Dwayne is a descendent of the accursed Honeybee Samuel, and spreads that curse to all his offspring. Dwayne was eventually captured, but the tragedy had one positive effect: Marissa conceived. The child that resulted was the young Shalia Hood, who grew up to become the wife of Stan Flippo. Shalia also became a politician, and her efforts helped to bring down the Hebbleskin Gang's growing influence. She played a major role in bringing things to a head in Boonville in 1990, leading to Fantisk Hebbleskin and Sgt. Luddin destroying the city. She helped the Phaelites and National Guard defeat both crime lords, and pushed the Hebbleskins back. She and Stan then built Gerosha atop the remains of Boonville. Stan's history was even more convoluted. The abusive minor league baseball player Steve McNolan finally alienated his pregnant girlfriend, Alison Ligash. As he was in prison dying of throat cancer, he vowed to break out and seek vengeance on Alison for leaving him. She found refuge in a kindhearted male friend: Tobey Flippo. Tobey agreed to marry Alison, as well as adopt the child inside her. However, Steve betrayed the couple to the Hebbleskin Gang, whom he had been doing dealings with. Phaelites in the area agreed to protect the young Flippo family - at a price. Stan was to have two experiments performed on him. The first was that some of his cells would be extracted to produce a half-clone. These would be inserted in a donated egg from a Phaelite woman, and would lead to artificial partial cloning. While Tobey was not a fan of the idea of reproductive science, he relented and allowed Alison to give the scientists permission to experiment with Stan. The second experiment merged Stan with "Grandma Centipede," a Michigan garden centipede that was captured and used for experimentation. Through this, Stan became a Phaelite Experiment with the blueprints for a Centhuen Prototype. When switched on, a gene inside one of his children would lead to that child developing the centipede powers that the Phaelites were trying to create. Their goal was to begin with enhanced human beings with centipede abilities, which could then be employed to form an army. From there, they'd create large monsters that were more centipede than man, dubbed "True Centhuens." The first successful implementation of a Phaelite Experiments' Offspring ("Phexo") into a Centhuen Prototype was Charles "Centipede Charlie" Hammerstein, who used his abilities to some effect in Japan during World War II. They were looking to make an even better version of Centipede Charlie, and were beginning to question the possibility of what would happen if they produced female Phexos. Through early tests, they discovered that the female Centhuen Prototypes were prone to their powers being dampened in the event of pregnancy. They figured that those women would learn to control themselves around men, reducing the need to worry about this minor detail. Baby Stan's half-clone was inserted into the womb of a Phaelite scientist named Insila Murtillo, who volunteered for that experiment. The half-clone was not to know for several years who his true father was. The baby that grew inside Insila was born as Ploribus Murtillo. He grew up to become a war hero, and changed his name to Darius Philippine to protect his mother. He eventually learned the truth about who his father was, but chose not to get too involved in Stan's life as that would only complicate matters. Even so, his half-siblings are aware of who he is. After Alison died, Tobey took Stan into the woods outside of Boonville to live. He taught Stan how to be self-reliant, and inspired in Stan a quest to find the lost treasure of the pirate Henry Lohtz. Stan eventually met Shalia, and the two of them embarked on a journey. Being the first couple to successfully stumble on the treasure, they were immediately rich beyond their imaginations. However, they decided to call their investment "Project: Gerosha." This is because they discovered the Gerosha Stone, a seashell that became the most prized possession of Lohtz. Stan and Shalia married soon after the death of Marissa. Their first son was Reily, who grew up to become a world-famous chef. During the Battle for Gerosha, young Erin Wyer was discovered to be an orphan. She was adopted by Stan and Shalia. A few years after the battle, Reily met and married Ashlee Kornsdall. They immediately had a son named Kirby. Stan and Shalia meanwhile had six more children of their own. Mike and Jeff would go on to become co-owners of a party supplies store. Tom Flippo would go missing at the age of 8, never to be heard from again. Finally, Stan and Shalia had the triplets Candice, Miriam, and Marina. Strangely, only Candi manifested the Centhuen Prototype ability set. Early life Candi was born as one of three fraternal triplets to Stan and Shalia Flippo on September 9th, 1999. She was the only Filippo child to receive the Centhuen Prototype mutation via Stan. Her two non-mutant sisters, Miriam and Marina, would develop other talents. Candi had lived for much of her early life going back and forth between being exposed to various environmental factors and being sheltered from them. She was aware early on of her mutation, and her implied calling in life; but has always had mixed feelings about it. Since she was a baby, this version knew she was unique. However, she generally tried not to show off her centilegs to her other sisters. She began living a double life, unaware that Erin was aware of the reason behind everything all along. Unlike Comprehensive and Cataclysmic Candis, Classic Candi was in the dark about her true purpose for much of her life. Erin explains it to her in "The Zeran Fallout," chapter 2 of Ciem. Imaki Izuki, her godfather, built her suit technology as with all incarnations. However, he observed Candi from a distance and made measurements by proxies of his. He rarely got involved with his goddaughter directly, for reasons never explained. As such, they didn't have the relationship that Candi hoped for. Candi's world was turned inwards in October of 2006, when her parents were run off the road by Hebbleskin Gang associates. Her older sister Erin gained custody of her, along with gaining custody of Miriam and Marina. Erin proved more level-headed in this version than in later ones. While Comprehensive Erin had a bad temper and Cataclysmic Erin is bi-polar, Classic Erin never truly loses her sanity. She is still strict with the girls, but not melodramatic about it. She does kick Marina out of the house for getting pregnant, but it's portrayed more sympathetically. Since Reily was busy with his wife Ashlee and son Kirby touring the world as celebrity chefs, he felt little connection to his biological sisters. The fact that they were technically young enough to be his daughters made meetings even more awkward, leading to him generally ignoring all his sisters. His luxurious lifestyle also conflicted with the family model of living beneath one's means, resulting in him being ostracized by Erin. Tom's vanishing weakened the family's bonds of unity further, and the girls felt even more isolated in the fact that their older brothers Mike and Jeff would have nothing to do with them. Middle school Unlike with Comprehensive and Cataclysmic Candis, very little is ever said of Classic Candi's middle school life. However, it is clear that some of the problems in those versions existed to a lesser extent in this version. Mostly, that clarity comes in the fates of Candi's sisters: Miriam and Marina. Candi found that the more politically-correct the school's curriculum became, the more hostile the school's environment became for all students - not just her. She began dating a certain Don Mendoza in sixth grade, in spite of Erin's wishes to the contrary. She thought she could cheer him up when he began having doubts about the goodwill of God, following the fact that his mother was sick and dying and his father was missing. However, the Hebbleskins also found him and got to him. Finding them willing to give him more than just promises to hold onto, he turned on Candi and left town. Unlike with Comprehensive and Cataclysmic Don Mendoza, Classic Don was unable to successfully penetrate Classic Candi before she fought him off. Therefore, the rape theme in later versions is absent in this one. In later versions, the fact that he succeeded in his initial goal before she was able to fight him off leads to her being haunted by his memory. In this version, Candi views Don more as a former friend who lost his way. While he does attempt to rape her later on, he is in no way successful. In Cataclysmic Gerosha, Don fails to rape her a second time. In Comprehensive Gerosha, he succeeds both times that he attempts to rape her. However, he fails to kill her. Classic Candi was deemed during creative development to be in need of remaining a virgin until after marrying Denny, as was the case with Gerosha Prime Candi. This was due to a rejection of her "shotgun" wedding to Denny in Despair Gerosha, an interpretation that quickly went off the rails. While it was stated that Marina became promiscuous, having the total partner count of 17 that has been canon ever since, the rape themes of her backstory also were not canon in Classic Gerosha. High school Candi's high school years, much like her middle school years, are not highly elaborated on in this version. High school as a whole appears to have had more of an impact on Miriam and Marina than on Candi. Instead of meeting Donte while on a field trip, she meets him one summer while battling Jeff the Invisible. Other than Marina getting pregnant and then marrying Matt, Miriam is the one most affected by events in this version. Phil was hardly portrayed as heroically in this version as in later ones. Instead, this Phil was suicidally depressed. Miriam offers to sleep with him to cheer him up. It doesn't work. Candi tries to offer Miriam counsel after Phil drowns himself. However, her advice rings hollow given her own secret desire to break the rules so she can have a child with Donte. ''Ciem'' Main article: Ciem (webcomic) Exile from Gerosha After giving it a lot of thought and consideration, Donte decides to go to the Middle East to help the Phaelite cause in defeating Duke Arfaas there, who has begun using his doomsday ships to secure control over Qatar. Donte's house is about to be sold, and it is predicted that he will have to move in with his half-brother Khumar Hamilton for a time. Candi decides that due to how risky a direct assault on Arfaas' Qatar base could be, she wants to ensure that a part of Donte will live on even if he doesn't. She talks him into sleeping with her, with the goal of her getting pregnant, even though he is uncomfortable with the thought of using her like that when they aren't married. He leaves a short time later, then enters the war alongside his friends the Wortells. The Wortells have just had a child named Charlie, whom they promised Donte would have first rights to adopt should he survive and anything bad happen to them. Donte is almost immediately captured during the fighting that ensues. However, the rest of his unit is completely obliterated. Donte is then captured in a Marlquaanite prison, so as to preserve him for a formal death by incineration ceremony on the day that Arfaas chooses to raid Evansville with his ships. Meanwhile, Candi prepares to visit Imaki Izuki and Jack Mercreek while they are in town. Miriam heads off to a party with some of her old classmates from high school. However, she is stabbed in the back with a syringe at the party, and while drugged, is date raped. Arfaas launches an attack on Gerosha, leading to absolute panic and martial law. The party is raided by police, and Miriam is arrested along with everyone else while she is caught in a bedroom having sex with a former classmate named Kenny Corsillo. When Candi tries to head home, she is attacked by Don the Psycho. A quick-but-vicious battle ensues, which leaves Candi singed and raped while Don ends up having burning debris fall on top of him and kill him. Candi flees the scene, naked and terrified, heading home. However, Erin goes home only to be attacked by Gunner Soorfelt. Gunner and Skellig sneak up from behind and murder Erin with an MP5-A5. They decapitate the body, then stuff her remaining corpse in the shower to threaten the other Flippo sisters. Candi sneaks into the house amidst all the neighborhood chaos, and finds Erin's body. Horrified, and traumatized beyond the ability to think straight or speak coherently, she gets dressed and hits the streets to flee town on foot. Candi makes it towards downtown Gerosha, when she sees a TV set on inside a bar. The TV set claims that Donte and his entire crew were completely obliterated, sparing no expense to show the carnage. As the rain begins to pour down in a cloud burst, Candi collapses and begins sobbing uncontrollably. However, patrolwoman Marissa Thanatel mistook Candi for Miriam, and wondered how Miriam could have escaped from jail so quickly. She very aggressively subdued a confused Candi, and took her into custody at the local jail. Darius soon found out about where Candi and Miriam were, and made arrangements for both to disappear. Candi, now in a straight jacket, was lured to a special room and bombarded with knockout gas. Miriam was allowed an alias of "Mila Fila," and was sent to flee town and live in Alaska. Candi awoke the next day alone and in a cave behind a waterfall - naked. Meeting Denny As Candi began to fear that she was at a loss for having anyone to connect with, she began to become friends with a classmate named Laurie Pegol. Laurie encouraged Candi to start looking at building a job history, which would help her later in life. Candi managed to land exactly that - at the Hazy Eighties Bowling Alley. However, no sooner did she leave the building after her job interview than she was attacked by Meethlites. Throwing himself into harm's way to help her was none other than Denny Levens, who then took Candi home in his car to explain himself. Over time, Candi and Denny began to have feelings for one another. The two of them try to befriend Botan the Plant-Man, but are unable to help him right away. He flees for Florida to hide until they can cure him. Candi and Denny have a chaste friendship and romance, at least at first. However, Candi's insecurity and appetite begin catching up with her. And the more time that Denny spends around her, the more Jessie begins teasing about where the two are going in a relationship. When Nolle Barret destroys Candi's chances of gaining any leadership at the Viron Community Church by helping to spread rumors regarding the very things Larissa was into, Candi stops going for a while; until Wilbur Brocklyn reaches out to her and helps her make things right. Falling for Denny During her time away from Wilbur and the church, Candi began to slip into a bit of a depression that she sought to alleviate by any means she could. Denny, meanwhile, was in the process of developing Phexo lycanthropy and a new pill that would allow anyone to re-attach a severed body part. Candi decides to volunteer for testing out the "Denny pills," as she dubs them. Denny hesitates, but then agrees to have her be the guinea pig for his experiment. She argues that if it fails, he can always give Arfaas her head in exchange for his privacy. The experiment goes highly successful, though Candi complains of feeling dizzy afterward. They try the experiment again a day later, using a guillotine. It's equally successful. Finally, he has her decapitated with a katana. She recovers from that one also. The two celebrate that their technology works, and then get Darius interested in mass production. All the while, Candi and Denny begin to lose their sense of self-control, downward-spiraling into two weeks of constant sex - even at the expense of Candi's studies and Denny's lycanthropy research. They finally emerge from it, resolving to keep themselves under control until they can decide the future of their relationship. However, the stress of having to deal with Arfaas' goons tests Candi and Denny's resolve. Word begins to reach Evansville that a killer named Musaran is on the loose - and has been slaughtering Phexos all across the country. Candi claims that she'll do something about Musaran if he ever threatens Evansville, but that she doesn't see a need to go hunting for him right away. When the Kerpher Gang, run by Victor Nanale, destroy the Hazy Eighties; Candi gets depressed at having witnessed the loss of her job. She and Denny end up having sex again for several days, before getting a grip on themselves. Several months later, they go on a camping trip together. However, Gunner Soorfelt stalks them all the way there. He foolishly comes alone, and then dies in battle against Candi when he falls on his own knife. Denny helps Candi to dispose of the body - and any evidence - that Gunner was ever there. During the battle, Gunner reveals that he was the one who killed Erin; which leads Candi to feel a sense of relief but also a sense of haunting. As the couple, still shaken, comfort themselves by the campfire; they end up having sex yet again. This time, they don't bother with any protective measures. Marriage to Denny Three weeks pass. Candi, while dealing with a crime unfolding in town, notices her powers begin to glitch. She discovers through a test that it is because she is pregnant. Denny is overjoyed at the news, though he understands Candi's embarrassment. The two agree to elope. Denny then takes Candi with him to Milwaukee, where he introduces her to his parents. They are less than amused with the situation, but grow to accept Candi as part of the Levens clan. Denny studies Candi's condition, and alerts her that she most likely won't be able to engage in her vigilante activities until after the child is born. Her centipede powers go dormant. When Musaran does arrive in Evansville, he targets the campus of Viron University around Christmas and commits a massacre. He lingers in the area, as Arfaas loyalists begin infiltrating the city. Even the police chief, Merle Hourvitz, begins talking like an Arfaas loyalist. Candi resolves to make the most of her down time, showing her support for Denny even while they lead their busy lives - and looking forward to their child. She learns that the child will be a girl, and names her Angie. Loss of family Similar to the webcomic, Candi in this version loses Denny on the eve of her going into labor with Angie. Musaran attacks the Levens family home, while Candi flees the campus and evades the police. She is unaware that Imaki has returned, and has medical personnel with him in the event of the worst happening. Candi manages to make it most of the way home, in spite her water breaking, when she witnesses Musaran smashing up objects outside the house. A few neighborhood watch personnel arrive to do battle with him, but are easily disposed of. She sneaks in through the back door as Musaran is leaving, only to find Denny dead on the bedroom floor with his neck crushed, presumably from Musaran's foot. A bomb goes off seconds later, and Candi finds the entire house imploding on her as a sinkhole swallows up the house. She goes into labor almost immediately after pulling herself from the burning rubble of her home. While crying out in pain, she also passes out from exhaustion. Time in Arizona Imaki helps get Candi prepared for her mission to reclaim Evansville, revealing to her that the time of Arfaas' grand invasion of the city is at hand. He helps her come to grips with the fact that the baby, Angie, did not live long after birth. Candi also notices her powers returning, along with her desire to prowl. Jack begins consoling her as well, but then goes back to trying to seduce her. Candi gets along well with most on the Apache reservation that Imaki and Jack take her to. One evening, however, Jack's advances become too much. Candi agrees to sleep with him. He asks her if they can continue. She promises him that at a future moment of her choosing, she will let him have her for a full week. They awake the following morning to discover that La Raza radicals are destroying the reservation. Enraged, Candi jumps into action using the suit that Imaki designed for her. La Ciempiés, or "Ciem" for short, begins fighting back against the Mexican terrorists. Jack helps out, and the two Phexos eventually help the reservation win the battle. However, Imaki is found under a pile of rubble. Imaki informs Candi that Donte is still alive. Jack, shocked, tells Candi to go back and try to save Donte before it's too late. Candi agrees to do exactly that. Ciem arrives in Evansville Before tackling Arfaas directly, Candi decides to do something about the Kerpher Gang. Her first major battle as Ciem ends up decimating their numbers, and she allows several of their slaves to go free. She escorts Maria Sanmarcos home in the Latin Town district personally. When Musaran arrives to abduct the child, a battle atop a semi truck and across several building tops unfolds. She lets loose with her inner rage that Musaran killed her husband and daughter, and at one point sends the monster flying through a window. Rather than finish the fight, she gets back to Maria and gets the girl home. She begins busting several petty criminals, but learns an undercurrent of the police siding with Arfaas. News of a "Ciem" entering town and doing what the police won't infuriates Arfaas, who wonders how it is that Musaran went rogue and how he failed to stop the one Centhuen Prototype that appears to be the most in need of being stopped. Candi later hacks into a database, using a few skills she learned off Miriam. She acquires enough information to learn of Musaran's real identity - and how to free Jeraime from the AI's control. She also learns where Donte is being kept, and engineers a staged incident as Candi Levens to get herself captured. Rescuing Donte Soon after her arrest, Candi is taken to a cell block inside the ship. She finds herself in there with none other than Dolly Malestrom, whom she shares a Denny pill with. The two are sent in line along with several other women, and are the 12th and 13th girls to be beheaded. However, Candi reattaches her head and reattaches Dolly's head to her body. The girls hide behind the other accumulating corpses, then formulate their plans. Dolly slips up into another area of the ship, along with Candi. They then part ways. Dolly smuggles her way into a storage room filled with women's clothing and guns, then gets dressed. She arms herself to the teeth, then barges out of the door and stages a coup. A barely-cooperative Musaran heads back to the ship, and is told to guard Donte while Arfaas tries to get his men to suppress the rebellion by female prisoners. Candi pulls out a Hairpin Zeran Wardrobe, and it pulls out a belt buckle-sized one. Inside that one, she retrieves her Ciem outfit and heads to work. She manages to find Donte and free him from the incinerator before it's too late, but learns he has developed cancer and that he needs exposure to energy outside the ship to make his powers work. They won't cure the cancer, so he'll have to see Darius about that. But they will give him a fair chance at defeating Arfaas. Candi confesses to him that in believing he was dead, she'd married the ill-fated Denny Levens. He tells her not to worry about it, and that he is already prepared to forgive her. Musaran figures out there's a breach in security in Donte's storage area, and several other Phexos are released by Candi and Donte. When Musaran arrives, Candi puts up a fight while Donte goes outside to restore his powers. Candi lures Musaran off the ship and into town, where the two battle until she is able to separate Jeraime from the Musaran AI. She ends up electrocuting and blinding Jeraime in the process, but at least Musaran is defeated. Donte uses his restored abilities to help destroy the ship, and Darius launches a raid with the National Guard to send Arfaas and company into exile. A few days later, Candi and Donte make arrangements for Denny and Angie's formal funerals. Donte states that he needs time to get help for his cancer, and needs to give Candi some time to grieve before they resume their relationship formally. Candi states that she'll be waiting for Donte when he gets back. ''Ciem 2'' '' where Candi and Donte walk into the corn field when everyone else is distracted. The original Sims 2 render featured in a slide for SWOCC Studios in 2010.]] Main article: Ciem 2 Right as Candi and Donte are about to go through the process of adopting Charlie, two gay men named Gary and Darryl decide to make trouble, claiming they should have Charlie instead. Even though the will puts Donte in front line, the judge rules that Candi and Donte have one month to get married in order to be considered top priority. Candi is embarrassed to admit to Laurie, but she and Donte have slipped back into their old bad habits and begun to sleep together frequently. She also begins to suspect that she is pregnant, given that she feels more under-the-weather than what her abilities would normally allow her to. She keeps having flashbacks to a time when she and Donte tried to have a baby in Khumar's corn fields. One evening, when Donte leaves to get some more treatments from Darius, Candi is awakened by a disturbing dream in which the ghost of Angie tells her that Miriam is in trouble. She goes patrolling the evening as Ciem, and intercepts a plot by Lloyd Kolumn and his henchmen to assassinate Andrew Tinsel. This gets her involved in a global conspiracy in which the Mik-Non terrorist group and Hebbleskin Gang try to start a war between the US and China. Miriam has been framed for involvement, and wants her name cleared. Candi's powers begin glitching as she plays bodyguard for Miriam, essentially confirming that she is pregnant. However, she and Miriam eventually defeat Captain Aardwulf and Donte destroys the Ming-Yo. Black Rat and Vienna Dockler help Miriam clear her name. Candi marries Donte in Vacaville, CA. Miriam and Steve McLaine get married at the same service, making it a double wedding. Marina and Matt are there with Andy. Also there is Jessie Levens, who is not about to abandon Candi simply because she'd married out of the Levens clan. Candi and Donte go about adopting Charlie, and Candi later acknowledges to Donte that she's having a baby boy. ''Ciem 3'' '' concept still of Candi's execution.]] Main article: Ciem 3 Two years go by, and Candi finishes her studies at Viron University. She and Donte prepare to move to Kentucky so she can begin work in her program. However, they run into complications when Lloyd Kolumn and Milp intervene. Candi is captured at one point, and is beheaded by Lloyd's men. If not for the intervention of a Phexo that got loose named Delusia, Candi would have died. She didn't have any Denny pills handy. Upon her rescue by Dolly, she gains new friends in the form of Mukade and Meerkat. She also discovers the secret to curing Botan the Plant-Man - but they need to first free him from Milp's mind control and defeat Milp to pull it off. After an epic showdown, most of downtown Evansville is destroyed. However, Dolly's actions prove to be the most essential in undoing Kolumn and Milp's plans. Therefore, it's revealed that the "liPo" of legend was actually Dolly, not Candi, as previously thought. Candi and Donte move to Kentucky as planned, and buy a house where they feel they can raise Charlie and Frank in peace. Post-''Ciem 3'' Candi becomes fairly successful at her job, and is able to help pay for Donte's many visits to Lex for cancer treatment to keep his condition at bay. At the age of 37, Candi gives birth to the twins John and Dana. Their births prompt her to spend only ten more years as Ciem, before retiring from superheroics completely. When Charlie becomes a super-rich billionaire, he allows most of his family to live under him. Candi is able to retire completely, focusing on the well-being of her other children. She also trains them in what it means to be Emwault-Centhuen Prototype hybrids. ''Ciem Tomorrow'' At the age of 53, the Hebbleskin Gang's last remnants get lucky and capture the McArthur family. Frank and John are able to escape with Donte, but employ help from the Gray Champion in trying to track down Candi and Dana. Both girls are now without any remaining Denny pills, and the Hebbleskins seek to repeat Kolumn's experiment. They boast right before Candi is placed on the block that they have already managed to kill her sisters, Miriam and Marina. They are successful in Candi's execution, and quickly make off with the head rather than stand around and celebrate. Dana is immediately lowered into position on the exact same block where she witnessed her mother being killed. However, right before the fatal blow is dealt, the executioner's swing is blocked by the Gray Champion's sword. Gray immediately sets to work killing all remaining Hebbleskins in the area, and secures Dana's escape. Candi's head is sent to Metheel, where it is processed along with those of her sisters. A Meethlite history museum features the skulls of all of Shalia's daughters as trophies, a testament that Duke Arfaas eventually got what he wanted. Her body ends up being buried in the Gerosha Cemetery, in the same mausoleum as her ancestors. Without her, Donte quickly slips into a depression. His cancer worsens, and Lex is unable to fight it. Dana soon finds herself an orphan. John goes to live with Charlie's family, while Dana elects to live with Lex Philippine. She soon finds herself also in the care of her cousin Andy Baret, who goes by night as a cyclist named "the Pitohui." When the Phaletori put a dome over Gerosha and send it into eternal nightfall, similarly to how the Hebbleskin Gang did that in The Battle for Gerosha, Dana and her cousins form Team Ciem to reclaim the town. Personality Similar to other versions of the character, Candi in this version is a cautious and reserved, beta-dominant female. Like with Cataclysmic and Classic Candi, she can be viscous if cornered and cruel if her friends and family are harmed. However, she prefers stealth and subduing her enemies to the more ruthless tactics of Dolly and her Earwig suit. She is a hopeless romantic, and dreams of a family with Donte quite often. She is very protective of her sisters, and feels frustrated when they end up in situations where she can do nothing for them. Unlike Cataclysmic Candi, Comprehensive Candi is less-focused, and is less willing to complete a job. While she loves Donte more than she has any other man, her self-control issues interfere with her ability to remain entirely faithful to him. Denny Levens existing in this version complicates things for her, as do Jack's relentless attempts to seduce her. She suffers with an extreme case of hypersexual disorder, far more exaggerated than that which her Cataclysmic Gerosha counterpart struggles with and even in excess of that of her Classic Gerosha counterpart. While Cataclysmic Candi and Donte only slip up with each other a total of three times before their wedding, Comprehensive Candi is addicted to sex and strives to get it from Donte whenever possible. This leads to a sense of self-loathing in her, as she realizes this behavior is wrong. However, she finds it difficult to shake her habits. For a time, she ends up being this way with Jack Mercreek also. Jack's own insatiable libido makes him a viable candidate for going after her, as he doesn't tire of her very easily. Donte has less endurance than Jack, but both can take more from her than Denny. Because of these complications, Comprehensive Candi has the most colorful dating history of any version. She has not only been with more men than any other version, but has proven herself kinkier than any other version. While her Earth-G5 and Earth-G7 selves have each tried anal sex one time with their respective Dontes, they have not gone on to engage in it on a once-a-month basis. Earth-G6 Candi has not only done that, but also has done so with her version of Jack. (There is no Earth-G5 Jack, and Earth-G7 Candi is able to resist Earth-G7 Jack's temptations.) Earth-G5 and G7 Candis have also tried oral sex one time with their respective Dontes. Earth-G6, however, engages in it regularly with her version of Donte. She has also accrued a history of engaging in it with her versions of Denny and Jack. She also has a disturbingly higher tolerance for bondage than her counterparts, largely attributed to the abuse inflicted on her as a child in the Gerosha public school system. Comprehensive Candi tends to keep a small circle of friends, not socializing much beyond her circle. In some ways, her circle is even smaller than that of other incarnations. She is also the least-composed version, struggling with self-confidence issues and frequent depression. One of her only other outlets is the thrill she gets from watching the Hebbleskins' evil plans fail, causing her to fear that she is perhaps more mentally and emotionally unstable than she initially imagined. When she finally is able to start a family, she mellows in her depression and sex drive. Children become a positive way to cancel out the strains she had with her life before that. Her self-esteem issues lead her to agree to things she wouldn't dream of in most other incarnations. While Cataclysmic Candi had to be tricked into sampling Remotach pills and proving that they work, Comprehensive Candi is voluntarily beheaded three times to prove that Denny pills are effective. She even goes so far as to form a plan that involves her using Denny pills and faking her own death on the chopping block as a way to infiltrate Duke Arfaas' doomsday ship and rescue Donte, a much-riskier plan than what any other version of Candi has ever been willing to attempt in their missions to rescue Donte. Development Story naming conventions The entire character of Comprehensive Candi was about cleaning up logical issues and taking remaining elements of Classic Candi to their logical conclusions. A lot of the push to create this version came from the fact that not long after Ciem was released to Mod The Sims, feedback poured in. Along with that, there was the unfortunate release of The Human Centipede on DVD. That film's title single-handedly discredited the title for Ciem, which was coincidentally subtitled the same. As a result, there were some strong desires to re-do Ciem so as to make sure it could never be confused with Tom Six's movie. Around the time in 2009 when the Dozerfleet founder was faced with this dilemma, he had a dream that would become the basis for Sorbet. He also was working on Ciem 2 in his spare time; and was working with classmates Chris Wilson, Angelica McClary, Zach Foster, Cassie Tilne, and Kyle Mayer on Blood Over Water. As wheels began turning on the prospect of doing yet another telling of Candi's life, the Dozerfleet founder decided to put together what would be needed to change the story just enough to make a new story that could then be sold for profit as a novel. The working title of Ciem: Vigilante Centipede was chosen. It wasn't ideal, but it avoided the use of "Human Centipede" in the title. Word then got out that the Spider-Man film franchise, which inspired Ciem, was getting a reboot due for release in 2012. Music Reboot fever went into full swing after that, complete with searching for songs that would be appropriate for a Comprehensive Gerosha soundtrack. Most of the original songs that worked so well for the webcomic didn't fit the new story's atmosphere. Worse, finding a set of songs that "felt right" for Ciem 3 proved to be near-impossible. Eventually, in 2011, ''Ciem: Vigilante Centipede'': The Album was compiled as a digital playlist; featuring acts such as Search the City and Flyleaf. Story elements One of the first considerations for a new telling of Candi's life involved giving her and Denny more and more-interesting things to do than what had been featured in the webcomic. The comics were quick to make Denny a part of the picture, simply because Denny was thought up before Donte, and there was little idea in Gerosha Prime what direction the story would be traveling in. Candi and Denny's incident with Gunner at the campground was actually taken from a Despair Gerosha draft for Candi and Donte at a cabin along the AuSable River in Grayling, MI. That concept still was, in-turn, inspired by seeing an actual couple in a canoe on the AuSable river preparing for a more-mundane version of the same adventure. A lot of other story changes were about exploring the bold new possibilities of what could be done in a novel that were either impossible or extremely difficult to pull off in the webcomic, given system limitations at the time. Logic problems with the webcomic that were not possible to correct in Classic Gerosha could be corrected with a continuity reboot. This led to a complete revision of what centilegs are, their size, and limits on how they worked. Visuals Several different art media were considered for how to depict this version of the character. The initial attempts at depicting her used a highly-modified model of her in The Sims 2, which was the same game engine used to depict all prior webcomic versions of her. The Sims 3 became a favorite game engine for concept art, though various real-life Filipina and Indonesian models were used as templates of inspiration. These have included Christiana Chrissiana, Charo Ronquillo, British pop star Amerie, actress Vanessa Hudgens, actress Parminder Nagra, model Sameera Reddy, and model Lekha Washington. Much of Candi's change in appearance came as story details evolved to better describe both her and Shalia's origins. It was decided that the original facial sculpt used for her Classic Gerosha look in The Sims 2 didn't match the ethnic origins she was described having. To give her more of an Indian appearance to resemble a great-granddaughter of Sadasheeva Cherupara, Candi was reworked in The Sims 3 in September and October of 2010. Slight modifications to her design from there were used from that point onward. In 2012, an effort was made to re-create her Sims 3 sculpt using MakeHuman 3D. With only mild adjustment, the Sims 3 sculpt became the basis for Cataclysmic Candi. That sculpt in turn became the inspiration behind selecting Nanda Soebaigo and other models affiliated with DeviantArt user Maleica as a photographic face for Candi and the other two Flippo triplets. Another minor change is in eye color. The original Candi had gray eyes, per The Sims 2 copying the gray-blue eye scheme given to Stan in Gerosha Prime. Comprehensive Candi marks the first time that her eyes are depicted explicitly to be brown, which was deemed a more realistic color given her heritage. Earth-G6 and Earth-G7 Candis also go through a lot fewer hairstyles, and have darker skin, than their previous counterparts. Earth-G5 and earlier Candis went through a lot more hairstyles than they had any right to, and tended to have paler skin than what Candi logically should have had. This was from her Gerosha Prime version being born with Stan's skin, rather than a compromise between Stan and Shalia's. Despair Gerosha made her a shade darker, but still not dark enough. Classic Candi, using one of the two "natural" skintones, took her a step darker yet. Comprehensive Candi, being the first to be made in Sims 3, was finally able to get her just dark enough without making her too dark. Sliders in The Sims 3 also made it easier to adjust other elements of Candi's physique, producing a body sculpt that better accounted for all of Candi's unique features. That sculpt was later ported to Cataclysmic Candi, with only very mild tweaking. See also * Ciem: Vigilante Centipede * ''Ciem: Vigilante Centipede'': The Album Category: Ciem Category: Ciem: Vigilante Centipede characters Category: Ciem: Nuclear Crisis characters Category: Ciem: Condemnation characters Category: Ciem Tomorrow characters Category: Beheaded females Category: Dozerfleet superheroes Category: Ciem 1 characters Category: Ciem Category: Beheaded females